Mr. Speaker, land belongs to the people who live there. The people choose representatives who make laws that reflect their land management priorities. That is the basic principle of democracy, and that principle is in peril if the government decides to ignore our laws whenever it wants.

That is why we stand with the people of British Columbia. As the government threatens to ram the Trans Mountain pipeline down their throats, we realize the Liberals could have done the same with energy east in Quebec. Bully federalism is a danger to us all, and that is why I introduced Bill C-392, which would force Ottawa to respect existing provincial laws and municipal bylaws wherever it gets involved.

It is time this government learned that basic respect for democracy and the people's right to choose is also in the national interest.

Mr. Speaker, butter that popcorn, because today is National Canadian Film Day. Across the country, people will be gathering at over 800 screenings, taking in the incredible work of Canadian creators.

From Tofino to Toronto, from Whitehorse to Westmount, everyone is watching Canadian films, and this year's theme is shining the spotlight on female filmmakers.

Under the leadership of REEL CANADA and executive director Jack Blum, National Canadian Film Day has been expanding the audience of Canadian productions for five years now. This year includes terrific films such as Maudie, by producer Mary Young Leckie, from my riding of Parkdale—High Park, The Breadwinner, and I've Heard the Mermaids Singing, which I will be watching tonight with my constituents at the Revue, our wonderful community cinema in Roncesvalles. There are seven screenings in my riding alone.

I encourage all Canadians, no matter where they live, to go to their local movie theatre, library, or school this evening to celebrate female filmmakers and learn more about Canada's history through the magic of film.

Mr. Speaker, Brantford's Krista DuChene, at age 41, finished third at the Boston Marathon, running in memory of the Humboldt victims. Training in our Canadian winters prepped her for a day where she would beat all but two in the best field ever assembled in the history of the race, and deliver the best result by a Canadian since 1980.

I do not know where to start with this remarkable, strong woman of faith. She did not start running seriously until her mid-20s, with an aspiration to make it to the Olympics. She juggled work, training, and raising three beautiful children. She did not get to the 2012 Olympics, and aimed for Rio instead. However, that came crashing to a halt in 2014, when she suffered a broken hip at the end of a race. Armed with a plate and three screws in her hip, she refocused to get to Rio, and almost a year to the day after breaking her hip she qualified for Rio at the Rotterdam marathon with a third-place finish.

She is a spectacular person, and an inspiration to all moms, athletes, and Canadians. I congratulate Krista.

Mr. Speaker, on April 2, hundreds of friends, family, and colleagues gathered in New Westminster to celebrate the life of Samuel Belzberg.

Sam was an extraordinary Canadian who lived a remarkable life of service and dedication to his family and to his country. Sam was a visionary leader, and his drive saw him rise to become one of Canada's most successful businessmen. However, Sam still had more to do.

In 2003, Sam, along with Jack Blaney and later David Aisenstat, launched Action Canada, a fellowship program that would identify emerging leaders, bring them together, and send them on a once-in-a-lifetime journey to better understand Canada and how to contribute to it. Sam believed, along with his wife Fran, that such a fellowship network could have a transformative impact on Canada. He was right. Fifteen years later, Sam's Action Canada fellowship network is over 200 strong. The leaders Sam helped select, train, and mentor are a living monument to his generosity, vision, and unrivalled commitment to Canada.

Mr. Speaker, last week, in my riding of Edmonton Strathcona, I had the pleasure of hosting a group of extraordinary young Canadians participating in a nationwide dialogue for action on the United Nations 2030 sustainable development goals. The three-year initiative Youth for Gender Equality is a partnership of Plan Canada, the Canadian Teachers' Federation, World Vision Canada, White Ribbon, and provincial councils for international co-operation, including the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation. The initiative offers a grassroots plan of action for Canadian action on the sustainable development goals.

At my session, the youth identified a broad range of gender inequality issues they face, including discrimination, wage gaps, and sexual harassment. Not stopping there, they identified actions and strategies for government and community alike to address the very challenges they face in seeking equality.

The results of these dialogues will be shared at the 2018 Y7 summit, occurring in parallel with the G7 summit in Quebec City, and will help inform Canada's SDG implementation. Here is hoping the government heeds their calls for action.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a sad and heavy heart to speak about the hate crimes committed in Ottawa in the recent past.

First, the Jami Omar Mosque in my riding was vandalized with posters bearing white supremacist messages. Second, at Hilda Jayewardenaramaya Buddhist Monastery, a statue of Buddha, who symbolizes peace, was viciously decapitated. Third, a young Sikh man was physically assaulted and subjected to racial slurs and hateful comments about his ethnicity, and worse, had his turban ripped off.

These hateful acts have no place in Canadian society. I know that these heinous acts do not reflect the Canadian values of openness and inclusiveness. Our Canadian society is truly multicultural and inclusive.

I wish to assure our Muslim brothers and sisters, our Buddhists brothers and sisters, and our Sikh brothers and sisters that all of us here stand in solidarity with them all.

Mr. Speaker, amid all the doom and gloom in the newspaper industry, there is good news, and that good news is in Wellington County in rural Ontario.

Fifty years ago, Bill and Trudy Adsett started a newspaper out of the front seat of their car. First, they only sold classified ads, but as time went on, they began to cover the news. Today, the paper, managed by their son, Dave Adsett, is one of the largest family-owned independent weekly newspapers in Canada. It is profitable, and it is the single biggest source of news in the county. As they say at the Wellington Advertiser, “We cover the county.”

The paper, along with Wellington County, is looking to the future. It has just digitized every edition of the paper, from its first edition on March 12, 1968 until today. It has also just received the Ontario Community Newspapers Association Gold Quill award.

I extend congratulations to the Adsett family and to all the staff at the Wellington Advertiser.

Mr. Speaker, on April 23, I will be introducing a motion that would ensure that we, as parliamentarians, are doing everything we possibly can for the long-term protection of Canada's endangered whale species. This includes the North Atlantic right whale, the St. Lawrence Estuary beluga, and the southern resident killer whale.

I want to thank the Minister of Fisheries and the Minister of Transport for the extensive measures introduced to protect the North Atlantic right whale and our oceans. These whales are an integral part of our environment, our culture, and our economy.

I know that people across the country understand the importance of protecting these species. In New Brunswick Southwest, Joseph Howlett, a brave constituent of mine, tragically lost his life trying to save an entangled right whale.

Further study by the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans will help inform longer-term measures to protect and recover these species. I will be looking for members' support on Motion No. 154.

Mr. Speaker, every year in the heart of Surrey—Newton, the annual Vaisakhi and Khalsa Day parade attracts nearly half a million Canadians celebrating the birth of Khalsa.

Outside of India, it is the largest celebration in the world and an amazing display of the diverse and multicultural character of our country.

On April 21, I invite all members of the House and their constituents to join me in celebrating this joyous occasion, and I want to send my best wishes to all Canadians celebrating Vaisakhi and Khalsa Day.

Mr. Speaker, our farmers have much of which to be proud: a tireless work ethic, an unwavering commitment to our rural communities, and a passion for the land passed on from generation to generation.

I invite Canadians across the country to join me in celebrating the inaugural National Grain Week. Through innovation, determination, and environmental stewardship, our Canadian farmers grow the highest-quality grain in the world.

To continue to be successful, our farmers must get their products to market, and they must have an efficient regulatory regime. We have much work to do, and time is of the essence. Amendments to Bill C-49 would bring much-needed accountability to our transportation system, preventing future crippling grain backlogs.

The trans-Pacific partnership provides access to lucrative new markets, ensuring long-term stability for Canadian grain growers. We must work together in the House to pass Bill C-49 as amended and ratify the TPP before the summer recess.

As Conservatives, we are committed to getting this done. In the spirit of National Grain Week, I ask everyone to join us.

Mr. Speaker, an important event is happening this Saturday in my riding of Saint Boniface—Saint Vital. It is the 30th anniversary of the St-Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre.

“World class” is a term often used to refer to the St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre: world class because it attracts top researchers from around the world; world class because it makes important scientific breakthroughs, like the recent PEG-2S antibiotic, which can help in the global fight against antibiotic resistant bacteria.

The Albrechtsen Research Centre has been committed to excellence from the very beginning. Initially led by Dr. John Foerster and now by Dr. Grant Pierce, the centre is known around the world for its innovation in cardiovascular research, neurodegenerative diseases, and agrifood.

I am really disappointed that I cannot be there on Saturday, but I will be there in spirit celebrating with them.

I wish a happy 30th anniversary to the St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre.

Sherry RomanadoLiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, on this National Volunteer Week, I want to tip my hat to all the volunteers in my riding.

By generously giving their time and energy, volunteers in Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne contribute in an exceptional way to the good of our community. From serving hot lunches to seniors at soup kitchens to making sure that every child gets a toy at Christmas, they comfort the hurt and the lonely, and they fundraise for our charitable organizations.

It is thanks to volunteers that key organizations in Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne are able to operate, organizations such as La Mosaïque, Maison des tournesols, Repas du Passant, and the Greenfield Park Oldtimers Hockey Association.

Volunteers across Canada might be giving a lot, but they gain even more in return.

I invite all Canadians to get involved and, in turn, become leaders in their communities.

Mr. Speaker, today the Yazidi people celebrate their New Year. Every year it falls on a particular Wednesday in April, also called Red Wednesday. While this occasion is the celebration of a new year and new life, it is also a time to pay respects to those who have passed away. This year it may be difficult, because there has been so much loss for the Yazidi people, yet the resilience of this community is incredibly inspiring.

While many Yazidis have suffered greatly in recent years, members of the diaspora community, such as those right here in Canada, have brought with them rich cultural traditions and the hope born in a new year. Much of their religion is unwritten and their traditions are passed down orally, including the recipes they cook on holidays. Yazidis around the world today will celebrate with a banquet of traditional foods, coloured eggs, dancing, singing, and red flowers.

I wish all Yazidis in Canada and around the world a very happy New Year.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about Petite Rivière, more commonly referred to as just Petite, an elementary school in my riding of South Shore—St. Margarets but also in my community. Jut a few months ago, Petite was on the brink of closure, a decision that would have devastated its students and their families and our whole community, but we rallied around to support it. In February, the Nova Scotia Supreme Court overruled the former school board's decision to close Petite, meaning that an essential service and a driver of rural sustainability will continue to thrive.

Now, just a few months later, Petite has won a national contest, a $20,000 shopping spree for new technology from Staples Canada. The school was one of only 10 winners nationally of the Superpower Your School contest and was chosen out of over 740 applications, based on its remarkable sustainability and environmentalism. This is a school that raises chickens. Yes, actual chickens.

I would like to congratulate the students and faculty of Petite. I look forward to seeing what they do with their technology.

Mr. Speaker, as a New Democrat, I am used to fighting for fairness, and we will never stop fighting for women in our country to be treated equally. Women in Canada have been fighting for pay equity for decades and continue to receive only empty promises from the federal government. This is beyond disrespectful, and I, together with my NDP colleagues, will not stand for it.

In 1977, the federal law dealing with equal pay for work of equal value, in section 11 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, was established, yet here we are in 2018 with statistics showing that women earn 31 cents less than men on the dollar.

Women have been waiting three years for the government to table pay equity legislation, and in this year's budget there is zero funding for its implementation. “Progressive” and “feminist” are words that mean something. They are not meant to be co-opted and manipulated for political gain.

Women have spent the last 40 years fighting, and we are done waiting. Enough is enough. It is time for the Liberal government to end the empty promises and to get pay equity done.

Mr. Speaker, last night the world lost an incredible individual and a dear friend of Canada. Barbara Bush, former first lady of the United States, wife of former president George Bush, and mother of six children, including former president George W. Bush, passed away at the age of 92. As the matriarch of her distinguished family, she was a bedrock of support, advice, and love. On her most recent birthday, her husband of 72 years lovingly tweeted, “I'm still the luckiest guy in the world.”

An international champion of literacy, Mrs. Bush left us with words of wisdom that we can still learn from. She said, “cherish your human connections.... At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a child, a friend or a parent.”

On behalf of the official opposition, I want to convey our deepest sympathies to the Bush family and to the American people on the loss of this remarkable woman, Barbara Bush.

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great honour to welcome students, faculty, and alumni from Queen's University to Parliament Hill. Today is Queen's advocacy day on the Hill, and I am excited to see the traditions and spirit of the Queen's campus come alive in the nation's capital.

As one of the first universities in Canada, starting with 13 students and two professors in 1842, it is inspiring that Queen's has grown to be one of the world's leading post-secondary institutions, with more than 23,000 students and 131,000 alumni worldwide.

Queen's researchers and students are turning discoveries into new technologies and companies in clean tech, health, renewable energy, and many other sectors. Queen's is continually pushing the boundaries through establishing new and innovative facilities, such as Queen's Innovation Park and its soon to open Innovation and Wellness Centre.

Whether hon. members are Queen's graduates, as I know many of us are, or just interested to know more about Queen's success, I encourage all members of this House to join us later this afternoon for Queen's official reception, right here in Centre Block.

Once again, I welcome Queen's University and offer best wishes for a successful day on the Hill.

Mr. Speaker, before the Prime Minister was elected, Canada was a great place to invest in the energy sector. Companies like Kinder Morgan did not need bailouts or guarantees. They had investors, and they had the commitment to get through one of the world's most rigorous environmental processes. In fact, the previous Conservative government got four major pipelines built, including northern gateway, which would have brought our energy resources to tidewater, which they killed.

Energy investment has fallen off a cliff, and now the message to investors is clear: “You need to have your project nationalized if you want it built.”

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is breaking news to all of us today. Northern pipeline actually got built to foreign markets. Northern gateway did not get built, because the Federal Court of Appeal said that his government had not consulted properly with Canadians.

The member also knows that any discussion about investment in the energy sector has an awful lot to do with environmental protection: a $1.5 billion investment in the oceans protection plan. I am hopeful that I will have a chance to detail that plan—

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives have been asking for a plan on how to get this pipeline built for months, and the government has done nothing. It is not just out-of-work people in Alberta or Saskatchewan who are suffering from the government's actions. It is people all across this country. There are seniors whose pension plans are being affected as more and more money leaves Canada's energy sector, but instead of building a Canadian energy brand the Prime Minister can promote around the world, he is actually in Europe talking to elites and talking down our resources.

Why does the Prime Minister not champion Canada's energy sector and stand up for the men and women who work in it?

Mr. Speaker, in Fort McMurray, just a matter of days ago, he did exactly that when he spent time with energy workers and he spent time with CEOs of major energy companies.

He could not have been clearer in his message that Canada understands the importance of natural resources not only in the energy sector but in forestry and mining. All the policies of the government seek to enhance the contribution of the energy sector, not only in Canada but around the world.

Mr. Speaker, the truth is the exact opposite. The Prime Minister was in Europe bragging about all that he is doing to punish Canada's energy sector. What he actually said, what he actually told his friends in Europe, is that he was disappointed that he could not phase out the energy sector tomorrow.

Can the minister tell the House, if the Prime Minister is disappointed that he cannot phase out the energy sector tomorrow, by what date this Liberal government will finally phase it out?

Mr. Speaker, it is too bad that the Leader of the Opposition showed no patience last Sunday. He decided that he was going to speak to Canadians before the Premier of Alberta and before the Prime Minister of Canada, because he has extraordinary powers beyond the rest of us. He knew exactly what the Prime Minister was going to say, because he had already written his message before the Prime Minister spoke.

What did the Prime Minister say? That this government supports the Trans Mountain expansion while it invests historic amounts of money on the west coast that all Canadians find so—